Friday, March 16, 2012

Specialty Clerics: St. Cuthbert

Rumored to have once been a mortal man, Saint Cuthbert is an intermediate deity. His alignment has been variously interpreted as lawful neutral (lawful good tendencies) and lawful good (lawful neutral tendencies). Saint Cuthbert hates evil, but is more concerned with law and order, with converting the uninformed, and preventing backsliding among the faithful.

Clergy

Saint Cuthbert's priesthood is divided into three major orders.

The Chapeaux, whose symbol is a crumpled hat, seek to convert people into their faith. They are equally divided between lawful good and lawful neutral characters. Paladins of Saint Cuthbert, known as Votaries or Communicants, have an honorary position in the Order of the Chapeaux. Their role is not just to convert others, but to actually fight enemies of the faith.

The Stars, whose symbol is a starburst, seek to enforce doctrinal purity among those already dedicated to the saint. Most are lawful neutral, and they do not shy from using mind-reading magic in order to ensure that even the private thoughts of their flock are pure.

The Billets are the most numerous of Saint Cuthbert's clergy. Most are lawful good, and they seek to minister to and protect the faithful. These are well-beloved by the common folk. Their symbol is a wooden club. The Chapeaux often come into conflict with the Billets, because the former order wants to seek new converts while the latter wants to care for the worshipers they already have.

Piercing Club: The standard vs. AC adjusts for a club are -4 (plate), -2 (chain), 0 (leather), +1 (none). Change the heavy and medium adjustments to -2 and -0 respectively. Once per day, the character may treat a club as a magic +1 weapon; this effect has a 1/6 chance to end at the end of each round (if Shillelagh is also active, treat club as a +2 weapon).

The total cost is 5%, as only one minor spell of fairly marginal utility is gained but the player recieves substantial improvements to an otherwise neglected weapon. If the player joins more than one order, a 10% XP penalty is reasonable to compensate for the extra spells.